The present invention generally relates to dental syringes for projecting air, water or mixtures of air and water in dental surgery, and more particularly, to dental syringes adapted to receive detachable and disposable means for preventing microbial or viral (or both) contamination between patients.
As recognized in this art field, a "dental syringe" is an apparatus used by dentists to pulverize bone employing a high pressure fluid directed onto a dental zone to be treated. The "fluid" can include air, water or mixtures of air and water, as desired.
Devices of this general type are known, one example being the device which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,968. In these devices, temporary protective shields are provided for the nozzle of the dental syringe. However, the resulting fit is often imperfect, and removal of the protective sleeve can be relatively laborious. Moreover, the various different types of syringe nozzles which presently exist require a corresponding number of different shields, making the use of such devices of little commercial interest.